A rabbit hole to innovation land: An empirical examination of the Alice decision

IF 3.3 3区社会学 Q1 LAW

Computer Law & Security Review Pub Date : 2024-12-28 DOI:10.1016/j.clsr.2024.106103

Hyejin Lee , Young Soo Park , Jaeseog Na , Sung-Pil Park

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank caused a dramatic decline in software patents and marked a major shift in U.S. patent policy. Opponents argue that the Alice decision sounded the death knell for all software patents and deterred software innovation. Proponents suggest that the Alice decision did not stifle software innovation but actually increased research and development (R&D) activity and the value of software patents. After examining the legal and economic background, we find that, contrary to the traditional model, a decrease in the number of patents does not necessarily signify a decrease in innovation, especially when the Factors Reducing Patent Value (FRPV) are prevalent. We present a theoretical framework and an empirical analysis demonstrating that the Alice decision has not negatively affected R&D activity or the patent value of software. Our study demonstrates that the Alice decision has stimulated firms’ innovation activities and increased the value of their patents by restricting the scope of broad and ambiguous patent rights, thereby discouraging the accumulation of excessive patent rights.

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通往创新土地的兔子洞：对爱丽丝决策的实证检验

2014年，美国最高法院对Alice Corp.诉CLS Bank一案的裁决导致软件专利数量急剧下降，标志着美国专利政策的重大转变。反对者认为Alice案的判决敲响了所有软件专利的丧钟，阻碍了软件创新。支持者认为Alice案的决定并没有扼杀软件创新，反而增加了研究和开发活动以及软件专利的价值。在考察了法律和经济背景后，我们发现，与传统模型相反，专利数量的减少并不一定意味着创新的减少，特别是当降低专利价值的因素（FRPV）普遍存在时。我们提出了一个理论框架和实证分析，证明Alice的决定并没有对研发活动或软件的专利价值产生负面影响。我们的研究表明，Alice判决通过限制宽泛和模糊的专利权范围，从而抑制过多专利权的积累，刺激了企业的创新活动，提高了企业的专利价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Computer Law & Security Review LAW-

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

10.30%

发文量

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： CLSR publishes refereed academic and practitioner papers on topics such as Web 2.0, IT security, Identity management, ID cards, RFID, interference with privacy, Internet law, telecoms regulation, online broadcasting, intellectual property, software law, e-commerce, outsourcing, data protection, EU policy, freedom of information, computer security and many other topics. In addition it provides a regular update on European Union developments, national news from more than 20 jurisdictions in both Europe and the Pacific Rim. It is looking for papers within the subject area that display good quality legal analysis and new lines of legal thought or policy development that go beyond mere description of the subject area, however accurate that may be.